This is one of the most popular episodes of the show... and quite possibly one of my LEAST favorites. Yea I'm taking a new challenge here... explaining why I don't like a popular episode of a popular show in a way gentle enough to not peeve people off but harsh enough to get through my problems. If I die today, please write 'I died for your sins' on my tombstone.

Ok, I will say this. It's really mostly one scene that bugs me about this episode, but in my opinion it is something that hinders the episode by a large amount. Which is a shame because this episode has a really good concept. Excited for a vacation, the Powerpuff Girls fly around so fast that they accidentally skip the world a couple decades into the future Superman-esque, resulting in a run-down Townsville which - without the Powerpuff Girls' protection - got taken over by Him.

This is the part when you scream and wet yourself.

Spoiler Alert - Skip to Spoiler End Tab for Spoiler-Free Thoughts

What stands out about this episode is how dark it is. Failure is a fear inside all of us. Not meeting up with the expectations of our loved ones, not being there for them, and seeing them grow old and desperate because of you. Think of how much this must bother the psyche of these little children.

The formerly mentioned theme isn't just an undertone either, they go all out with it. Even turning every single character into older, withered, delusional, and practically zombified versions of their past selves. The Professor goes crazy trying to create 'new' powerpuff girls and throws the real girls out, thinking that they were hallucinations. It's both, really sad and really disturbing.

And there's even a scene when all of the people of Townsville (or what's left of them) surround them and continuously chant 'your fault, your fault, your fault'. Not exactly subtle but effective never the less. Oh and Him, Him is quite possibly at his most menacing in this episode. Funny how a character can go from this.

To this.

Him is always a villain that liked to play with their minds and that always made him one of the more intimidating figures in cartoon history. And this episode pretty much staples him to the throne.

The animation also adds to the effect of something gone awry. The people look so disturbing, the red color scheme

This episode is meant to be disturbing and is meant to push the envelope and they do that successfully. But does this episode succeed in other areas besides being dark? Eh.... in my opinion, not really. One.... they barely put any jokes. Granted it adds to the emotions, but it completely takes from the show's charm. It feels too out of place and it's to the point when it feels like the only reason this episode was made was to make this episode edgy and to me, that takes away from the realism.

To me fear comes from loss. And loss comes from putting the same characters we knew to love at risk. But if this episode doesn't capture the charm of the show, then I don't feel like I'm watching the same characters - it feels more fan fiction-esque - and I don't get as invested in what's going on. I don't really feel like the people of Townsville, the powerpuff girls, or anyone else are really gone or in danger because this episode doesn't stop to let us enjoy them. I appreciate this episode's ideas but it didn't have the time to stop and take a breath.

This episode would've really benefitted for being 22 minutes instead of just 11. Then they can give us some comedy, they can give us some time to breathe. they can make us feel like we're watching the Powerpuff Girls. My problem with this episode isn't that it's too dark, it's that they didn't balance it out properly.

But this is the biggest problem with the episode in my opinion, the ending. No, it's not that the conflict was resolved in 6 seconds, it isn't the lack of action. I don't mind those things because this episode tries to put emphasis on pathos instead of action. It's the fact that they didn't put the pathos in an area that really needed it. In the end the Powerpuff Girls cancel their vacation to the Bahamas because they realize that they need to keep watch of Townsville. And thus they can never leave again.

And that's just treated as a regular happy go-lucky moral. Don't steal, don't swear, and don't shirk responsibility OR SATAN WILL CONSUME THE SANITY OF EVERYONE YOU LOVE! Bring the kiddies.

This is true. With great power comes great responsibility and it's a great toll to bear and I'm glad it's addressed. But do they have to be so gosh darn happy about it. Yes, I get it. After a dark episode they need to lighten the mood on the ending or parents will be all up on Cartoon Network's mojo and I do agree, it shouldn't be too dark. But this episode treats this as completely fair and it isn't.

You don't have to give them the vacation and you don't have to go all Batman and brute about it. But I am asking that something like this is at least noted of. If they had to calm down on the previous parts of the episodes to fit this in there, fine. In fact, I think this episode kind of needed that too. But they put too much weight on certain parts of the episode and now it feels out of balance.

Spoilers End

Story - 52/100 - The ideals are there and it succeeds in it's darker atmosphere. However, the ending is kind of twisted and it doesn't give us the time to capture the show's charm, kind of making it detaching from the story. Characters- 61/100 - Him is on top form here, but other than that we don't really get highlight moments from any of the characters as we know them. The brainwashed versions of the citizens of Townsville are pretty creepy though. Animation - 82/100 - The animation is really good, especially in the background art. It's red/black color scheme adds to the disturbed environment. Comedy- 40/100 - Lack thereof, and in the end that disrupts the episode not only in the charm value but in the pathos value as well, making it feel more dark for the sake of dark other than the same characters tackling darker themes. There are several other Him episodes in my opinion that does this better, mostly because they're either paced better or they're given more time to flesh themselves out. Overall-

51.75/100

Underwhelming

I'm not talking out of my behind right? Am I making sense? Did anyone else see this? I'm not here to peeve anyone off and I'm not here to completely bash this episode. I mean, if it's this popular it has to do something right and for what it's trying to do it succeeds immensely. I'm talking about this episode because I wanted to put a line between how to incorporate dark or extremely emotional themes in otherwise light hearted cartoons. I've talked about great examples such as 'Night of the Living Pharmacist' and 'Steven the Swordfighter' and I will talk about other great examples in the future.... perhaps even next time. (wink wink). But sometimes I need to talk about how this can backfire and in my opinion I think this episode backfired. It's dark but it doesn't have the charm this show is known for throughout the majority of the episode and to me, that is important.

If you like this episode, good on you. Enjoy it until your heart gives out. If you're curious go ahead and see it, again, it's only eleven minutes and it is extremely popular. But.... those are my thoughts. And, yea.